What is John Foster (john-foster.co.uk)?

John Foster is a British weaver of luxury worsted and mohair apparel fabrics, based at a mill in Yorkshire. Its website is aimed primarily at apparel and trade customers rather than consumers: it presents seasonal and stock-supported cloth collections, an online stockroom for archive and surplus fabrics, and an appointment-only mill archive. If you are a garment maker, tailor, or fabric buyer looking for British-woven cloth, the site is a catalogue and enquiry point rather than a retail checkout.

What the mill makes

The company describes itself as world-famous for quality worsted and mohair apparel fabrics, woven with skills passed down through generations. Its stated fibre range covers merino wool, mohair, alpaca, cashmere and silk — the materials behind its "iconic British cloths."

The heritage section dates the business to 1819, when John Foster began producing worsted cloth at age 21. In 1835 he built a mill at Black Dyke, Queensbury, on family farm land; Black Dyke Mills became the foundation of the business.

Fabric collections

Two collection types are described on the site:

Stonedale is presented as the company's first official collection under its year-round stock support, and is framed as a step toward a greener future. Its colours are described as drawing on the Yorkshire landscape — industrial skylines such as Leeds and Bradford combined with the Yorkshire Dales.

The Stockroom (online)

"Luxury Fabrics – The Stockroom" is a digital window into the warehouse. It offers archive cloth, development pieces, overmakes and selected special releases. Full details and swatch sampling are available before ordering, so you can check a cloth and request a sample prior to committing.

The Mill Archive (by appointment)

The Mill Archive is an appointment-only service for trade clients. It covers a historic cloth collection preserved within the mill, extending beyond current bunches to one-off and discontinued cloths no longer in production — each piece therefore carries a sense of rarity. Visits take place on site, so the collection is viewed in its original setting before selecting and purchasing directly from the archive. It is available exclusively by appointment.

Who it is for

• Trade and apparel customers: the collections, stockroom and archive are framed around trade use; the archive is explicitly for trade clients.
• Anyone needing samples first: the stockroom supports swatch sampling before ordering, which suits buyers who need to assess handle and colour in person.
• Heritage and archive seekers: discontinued and one-off cloths are only accessible through the appointment-based Mill Archive, not the general collection pages.

Practical details

• Telephone: +44 1274 655900
• Email: [email protected]
• Address: Stanley Mills, Edward St, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 9RS, England
• Company registration: 4296467; a division of Luxury Fabrics, part of SIL Holdings Ltd.

The site does not publish prices or an online ordering process for the main collections, so treat it as an enquiry-and-sampling starting point: identify a collection or stockroom cloth, request a swatch, then contact the mill to discuss availability and ordering. For archive pieces, book an appointment rather than expecting to buy online.